Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana

Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY), from 2^nd October 2007, covering the death and permanent disability for the benefit of rural landless households as detailed below:

(i) The scheme provides for insurance of head of the family or an earning member of the family of rural landless household between the age of 18 to 59 years against natural death as well as accidental death and partial/permanent disability. The annual premium payable per member is Rs.200, of which 50% shall be paid by the Central Government and the remaining 50% by the State Government. The main features and benefits of the AABY Scheme in nutshell are as under:

FEATURES:

Eligibility	Rural Landless Households
Age Group	18-59 years
Premium	Rs.200/- per member. 50% by Central Government and remaining 50% by State Government
Nodal Agency	State Government

BENEFITS:

Natural Death	Rs.30,000/-
Accidental Death	Rs.75,000/-
Total permanent disability	Rs.75,000/- (loss of two eyes or two limbs or loss of one eye and one limb in accident)
Partial permanent disability	Rs.37,500/- (loss of one eye or one limb in an accident)
Scholarships	Two children of the beneficiaries studying in 9th to 12th Standard will get Rs.300/- per quarter per child

(ii) Creation of a fund of Rs.1000 crore to be operated by LIC for meeting the liability of Central Government towards its share of premium payment. As per the National Sample Survey, the number of rural landless households in the country is 1.5 crore. It is expected that in the first year approx. 70 to 80 lakh of rural landless households would be covered under the scheme requiring an expenditure of Rs.70-80 cr by the Central Government towards its share of 50% premium. With a 8% per annum return expected on the Rs.1000 crore fund, the amount would be sufficient to meet the liability of premium payment.

(iii) A separate Rs.500 crore fund will be created for the purpose of providing scholarships to children of beneficiaries. This will make available Rs.40 crore for the full year at 8% per annum return. This amount would suffice for the coverage of 3,33,000 children of the beneficiaries.

This Scheme would extend the benefit of life insurance coverage as well as coverage of partial and permanent disability to the head of the family or an earning member of the family of rural landless households in the States and also educational assistance to their children studying from 9^th to 12^th standard as an extended benefit.

MNP

Mobile number portability (MNP) enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another.

The TRAI today issued draft Regulations to facilitate Mobile Number Portability (MNP) implementation in the country. The draft regulations lay down the business process for implementing mobile number portability. The important points covered in the draft include Subscriber’s eligibility conditions for porting, Rights, obligations and duties of service providers; Rights, obligations and duties of Donor operator where the subscriber exists before porting; Rights, obligations and duties of recipient operator where the subscriber moves after porting; Rights, obligations and duties of Mobile Number Portability Service Provider (MNPSP) who facilitates the mobile number portability through its clearing house and Number portability Database centre and Porting Process guidelines which describe the entire porting process right from the time subscriber requests for porting his mobile number till the porting takes place. In March 2006, the Authority had recommended implementation of MNP in the whole country in a phased manner, starting from Metros and A category service areas followed by B and C category service areas. DoT accepted the recommendations of the Authority including formation of a Steering Committee under the aegis of TRAI, to deliberate upon various issues involved in the implementation of MNP in the country. A Steering Committee was constituted consisting of representatives from TEC, Service Providers and their Associations that submitted its report to DoT for initiating the process for selection of MNP operator. Subsequently, the DOT issued guidelines for MNP service license on 1st August 2008. The DoT guidelines envisaged geographical division of the country into two Number Portability Zones (zone 1 & zone 2), each consisting of 11 licensed service areas. Subsequently, one operator in each zone was selected (M/s Syniverse Technologies(I) Pvt. Ltd was granted licence for operating in Zone 1 (Northern and Western India) and M/s MNP Interconnection Telecom Solutions(I) Pvt. Ltd was granted licence for MNP Service Zone 2(Eastern and Southern India)), based on the selection parameters set in the guidelines for MNP service license. The DoT has granted license to these MNP service providers on 20th March, 2009 and TRAI is formulating business process for implementation of MNP in the country. TRAI will bring a consultation paper on Per port transaction charges and dipping charges shortly. TRAI solicits comments from the stakeholders on these draft regulations by 14th July 2009. The draft regulations are available on TRAI’s website www.trai.gov.in

Indian billionaires bounce back: Forbes- Hindustan Times

Indian billionaires bounce back: Forbes- Hindustan Times

The number of billionaires in India almost doubled in the past 12 months to 52, mainly thanks to a recovery in global stock markets, a richlist from US magazine Forbes showed on Thursday.

"Happy days are definitely back again for India's richest," said Naazneen Karmali, India editor for Forbes Asia, in a statement accompanying the India Richlist survey.

"This year's list shows yet again that when conditions in the financial markets and the economy are right, India has the scale and resources to produce billionaires faster than most of the countries on Earth."

A rebound in the Mumbai stock exchange, which is up 76 per cent since the start of the year, and continuing economic growth helped enrich the mostly male list of company owners, whose accumulated net worth is equivalent to a quarter of India's gross domestic product.

Last year, the number of billionaires halved to just 27, from 54 in 2007.

"In terms of absolute fortune, we are not at the level we had," Karmali said: "We're back to 52, but in terms of wealth we have not recovered yet."

The head of India's biggest company Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani, is once again the wealthiest person in India. His net worth is estimated at 32 billion dollars, an increase of 54 per cent from 2008.

In second place is steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who is worth 30 billion dollars, up 46 per cent from a year earlier, Forbes said.

Mukesh Ambani's estranged brother Anil is in third place with 17.5 billion dollars, 40 per cent higher than before.

The richest newcomers were two brothers from energy group Torrent Power -- Sudhir and Samir Mehta -- whose collective wealth was ranked 23rd at 2.02 billion dollars.

The magazine also underlined the higher concentration of wealth in India compared with China.

The 100 richest Chinese are worth 170 billion dollars, less than their Indian equivalents at 276 billion dollars.

Tuvalu

Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations on September 5, 2000. The Prime Minister at the time of entry was the Hon. Ionatana Ionatana, who died in office shortly after, on December 8, 2000.

Tuvaluan flag at the UN	Late Hon. Ionatana Ionatana

Suicide has historically been treated as a criminal matter in many parts of the world. Although a person who has successfully committed suicide might be thought to be beyond the reach of the law, there could still be legal consequences. The associated matters of assisting a suicide and attempting suicide are, or have been, also dealt with by the laws of some jurisdictions.

The first country to legalise medically assisted suicide is Netherlands

India

In India, attempted suicide is a punishable crime by up to one year in prison and/or fine. For a brief while, the Supreme Court had interpreted the section of the penal code which criminalizes suicide as unconstitutional but a recent decision has upheld the constitutional validity of prohibiting suicide.

CIS

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a loose alliance or confederation consisting of 10 of the 15 former Soviet Republics, the exceptions being Turkmenistan, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Georgia.Georgia left the CIS in August 2008 after a clash with Russia over South Osetia. Its creation signaled the dissolution of the Soviet Union, its purpose being to "allow a civilized divorce" between the Soviet Republics. The CIS has developed as a forum by which the member-states can co-operate in economics, defense and foreign policy.

Proxy voting

Postal Voting is other wise called:

Proxy voting and delegated voting are procedures for the delegation to another member of a voting body of that member's power to vote in his absence. Proxy appointments can be used to form a voting bloc that can exercise greater influence in deliberations or negotiations. A person so designated is called a "proxy" and the person designating him is called a "principal."

Riddick's Rules notes that under proxy voting, voting for officers should be done by ballot, citing the difficulties involved in authentication if a member simply calls out, "I cast seventeen votes for Mr. X."

India

In 2003, India's People's Representative Act was amended to allow armed forces personnel to appoint a proxy to vote on their behalf

The General Assembly of United Nations meets Once a year.

The Secretary-General of UN is appointed by the UNGA

"The Woman of the Millennium"

"The Woman of the Millennium" selected by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi was India's first female prime minister

Indira Gandhi has been voted the greatest woman of the past 1,000 years in a poll by BBC News Online.

National Institute of Oceanography

The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) is a constituent laboratory of CSIR - the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, an autonomous research organization in India. The institute has its headquarters in the coastal state Goa, and regional centres in Kochi , Mumbai and Vizag. The Institute was established on 1 January 1966. At the end of over 40 years, this is grown today into a large oceanographic laboratory of international repute with main focus on the understanding of special oceanographic features of the Northern Indian Ocean. The institute headquarters was shifted to its present location on a panoramic view of Arabian Sea in the background soon after its establishment.

e International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide^[1] which started to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for the human being, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering, without any discrimination based onnationality, race, sex, religious beliefs, class or political opinions.

The often-heard term International Red Cross is actually a misnomer, as no official organization as such exists bearing that name. In reality, the movement consists of several distinct organizations that are legally independent from each other, but are united within the Movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes and governing organs. The Movement's parts:

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland by Henry Dunant. Its 25-member committee has a unique authority under international humanitarian law to protect the life and dignity of the victims of international and internal armed conflicts. The ICRC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions (in 1917, 1944 and 1963).

• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 and today it coordinates activities between the 186 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies within the Movement. On an international level, the Federation leads and organizes, in close cooperation with the National Societies, relief assistance missions responding to large-scale emergencies. The International Federation Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1963, the Federation (then known as the League of Red Cross Societies) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the ICRC.

• National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world. Currently 186 National Societies are recognized by the ICRC and admitted as full members of the Federation. Each entity works in its home country according to the principles of international humanitarian law and the statutes of the international Movement. Depending on their specific circumstances and capacities, National Societies can take on additional humanitarian tasks that are not directly defined by international humanitarian law or the mandates of the international Movement. In many countries, they are tightly linked to the respective national health care system by providing emergency medical services.

Famous Persons

Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi (Kannada: ಪಂಡಿತ ಭೀಮಸೇನ ಗುರುರಾಜ ಜೋಷಿ, Marathi: पंडित भीमसेन गुरुराज जोशी, born February 4, 1922) is an Indian vocalist in theHindustani classical tradition. A member of the Kirana Gharana (school), he is renowned for the khayal form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional music (bhajans and abhangs). In 2008, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

Rukmini Devi Arundale (Tamil:ருக்மிணி தேவி அருண்டேல்) (February 29, 1904 – February 24, 1986^[1] ) was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer in Indian classical dancer form of Bharatnatyam, and also an activist for animal rights, animal welfare and vegetarianism.Rukmini Devi features in India Today's list of '100 People Who Shaped India' She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1956, and Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1967.

Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala' (सूर्यकांत त्रिपाठी 'निराला') (February 21, 1896 – October 15, 1961) was one of the most famous figures of the modern Hindi literature. He was a poet, novelist, essayist and story-writer. He also drew many sketches.Nirala's poem Himmat Karne Walon Ki Har Nahi Hoti (Those who have courage never fail) was depicted as the favorite poem of the main character in Hindi film, Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (2005) played and produced by Anupam Kher

Harish Salve

Harish Salve is a lawyer who served as Solicitor General of India from November 1, 1999 to November 3, 2002. He succeeded Santosh Hegde, who had been appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of India.^[1] Salve was a well-known lawyer, and practiced especially in the areas constitutional law, commercial law and taxation law before his appointment. He had previously served as Amicus Curiae for the Supreme Court in multiple cases, and frequently represented parties before the Supreme Court of India and Delhi High Court. He had previous experience working with Attorney General, Soli Sorabjee in 1980-198

UDHR

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris). The Guinness Book of Records describes the UDHR as the "Most Translated Document" in the world. The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are entitled. It consists of 30 articles which have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions and laws. The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, theInternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols. In 1966 the General Assembly adopted the two detailed Covenants, which complete the International Bill of Human Rights; and in 1976, after the Covenants had been ratified by a sufficient number of individual nations, the Bill took on the force of international law.

NEERI

The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur was established in 1958 as Central Public Health Engineering Research Institute (CPHERI), when environmental concerns were limited to human health with a focus on water supply/sewage disposal/ communicable diseases and to some extent on industrial pollution and occupational diseases.

Sino-Russian Relations

Refound common interests

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, relations with Russia have dramatically improved, both countries found common interests and a common free market orientation, and related to these, a common opponent: the United States as the sole superpower. In 1991, the Sino-Russian Border Agreement was signed apportioning territory that became contested during the Sino-Soviet border conflict.

Settling the disputes

Main article: Outer Manchuria

The Russian government agreed to transfer Tarabarov Island as well as one half of Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island to China in 2004, ending a long-standing border dispute between Russia and China. Both islands are found at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, and were until then administered by Russia and claimed by China. The event was meant to foster feelings of reconciliation and cooperation between the two countries by their leaders. The transfer has been ratified by both the Chinese National People's Congress and the Russian State Duma. The official transfer ceremony was held on-site 14 October 2008.

A strategic alliance

In 2001, the close relations between the two countries were formalized with the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, a twenty-year strategic, economic, and controversially, (arguably) an implicit military treaty. A month before the treaty was signed, the two countries joined with junior partners Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan andUzbekistan in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The PRC is currently a major Russian customer of imports needed to modernize the People's Liberation Army, and the foremost benefactor of the under construction Russian Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean oil pipeline.

Department of Posts

The postal service comes under the Department of Posts which is a part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology under the Government of India. The apex body of the department is the Postal Service Board. The board consists of a chairman and three members. The three members hold the portfolios of Operations & Marketing,Infrastructure & Financial Services, and Personnel. The Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor to the Board is also a permanent invitee to the Board.

India has been divided into 22 postal circles. Each circle is headed by a Chief Postmaster General. Each Circle is further divided into Regions comprising field units, called Divisions, headed by a Postmaster General. Other functional units like Circle Stamp Depots, Postal Stores Depots and Mail Motor Service may exist in the Circles and Regions.

Besides the 22 circles, there is a special Circle called the Base Circle to cater to the postal services of the Armed Forces of India. The Base Circle is headed by an Additional Director General, Army Postal Service holding the rank of a Major General.